Window cleaner



y 28, [1942- c. F. ANDERSON ETAL 2,291,435

WINDOW CLEANER Filed Aug. 10, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 5 m w mm m 6, 5A1! ER O F Wt: H n J 4 a 6 mm H Wm 5 w FIG. 1

July 28, 1942.

Cl F. ANDERSON El AL WINDOW CLEANER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 10, 1939Patented July 28, 1942 cars srars KEN? GE FICE WINDOW CLEANER Charles F.Anderson, Brooklyn, and Michael J. Freeman, New York, N. Y.

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to apparatus to facilitate the cleaning of windowpanes, and more particularly to a device in combination with particu larcloth arrangements which will enable the housewife or other person toclean window panes especially on the outside with greater facility andin the manner used by professional window cleaners.

Heretofore devices of this general character have been proposed, butsuch devices have been incomplete and not universally useable, as wellas. being complex to use and to operate, and expensive to manufacture.There have been other disadvantages too numerous to recite, butincluding inability to readily clean along the top edges of windowsashes.

It is one object of our invention to provide a device of the aboveindicated character which can be used to thoroughly clean window panes,transoms, or the like, on the outside while the user remains standing orsitting on the inside of the window.

It is another object of our invention to provide a device of the aboveindicated character which will thoroughly clean window panes even thoughthe window sashes overlap each other, and without danger of damagingeither the device or any weather stripping with which the window may beequipped, or the paint of the window frame.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a device of theabove indicated character with cloths which may be readily interchangedso that the windowpanes maybe cleaned as effectively and efiiciently asis done by professional window cleaners.

A further object of our invention is to provide a device of the aboveindicated character in which pressure is at all times applied at the tophalf of the device, as well as in the lower half thereof, irrespectiveof the height or place of use, so that the window pane can be properlycleaned around the frame without the necessity for a separate handapplication of the cleaning or polishing cloths.

An even further object of our invention is to provide a device of theabove indicated character that is adjustable in length so that the samedevice may be used with equal facility on various sizes and types ofwindows, etc.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a device of theabove indicated character that in the natural positions and angles ofuse sufiicient pressure will be properly and evenly distributed over thewhole surface of the holder portion of the applicator with minimumeffort on the part of the user.

Further objects of our invention are to 'provide a device of the aboveindicated'character with novel and effective. means for Securing thevarious cloths in position upon the holder, and to provide a modifiedconstruction of applicator especially adapted for use upon casementtypes of windows.

Other and still further objects of our invention will be apparent fromthis specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein- Figure 1 is a rear view with parts broken away and parts shownin section to facilitate the illustration of our improved applicator.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the applicator'of Fig. 1 with the handleomitted.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are respectively rear and side views of a modifiedform of device.

Fig. 6 is a View partly in section, showing the applicator of Figs. 1and 2 in one position of use.

Figs. 7 and 8 are respectively rear and side views of the holder portionof the applicator with a cloth fastened in position.

Figs. 9 and 10 are perspective views respectively of the wetting clothand polishing cloth; and

Fig. 11 is a rear view of a drying chamois.

Figs. 7 to 11 illustrate different methods of fastening the cloths uponthe applicator.

Referring to the drawings, in which we have shown the best modes nowcontemplated of applying our invention, the applicator comprises a shaftIthaving a holder if at the upper end thereof, and a handle l3 adjacentthe lower end thereof. In Figs. 1 and 2, the preferred form, the holderl2 comprises a plate [4, shown as rectangular although other shapes andsizes may be used, having on the face thereof a pad I5, of felt or othersuitable substance. If desired, the pad may be omitted, but we prefer touse the same as a facing upon the plate It. It will be noted that theplate is curved on a substantial radius from the top edge !6 to thebottom edge Tl, which is true when the plate is not inuse. The plate isresilient, being made of spring metal.

The shaft l I is made of. resilient flat stock and is secured to theplate It in any suitable manner, as by rivets l8. Round rod may be usedfor the shaft, and if used will preferably be flattened and taperedwhere it is applied to the plate.

The shaft H is fastened to the plate It so as not to extend above thecenter or point of maximum arc of the plate, and at the same time, therivets are placed well above the bottom edge I! of the holder. Thus, aminimum of pressure will be required by the user to flatten the holderagainst the window pane, and also there will be a free space 2| betweenthe holder and shaft for gripping the cloths, as will be explainedhereinafter. The shaft II is provided with a plurality of transversegripping notches 22 on that part next to the plate M. The necessity withthe whole construction is to keep the thickness of the applicator to aminimum for use in narrow spaces available in many instances.

The shaft Il may be of any desired length, preferably sufiiciently longthat with the bottom sash raised, or the upper sash lowered, part way toa convenient height the user can easily reach the top of the windowpane. To facilitate use, the shaft also has a curved middle portion 23,the curve also being on a large radius and extending from adjacent thebottom of the holder to adjacent the handle It. The upper and lower endsof the shaft are substantially straight.

The handle I3 is tubular and is adjustable on the shaft At its upper endthe handle is provided with a ferrule 24, and an internal split collar25 (Figs. 1 and 3). The collar 25 is of such size that it is spreadslightly when the shaft II is inserted in the handle, so that there is afirm friction grip between the collar, the shaft and the handle, and thehandle remains in the adjusted position. It'will be understood that thecollar 25 may be omitted and the opening in the handle could be of suchsize as to have a press fit with the shaft, or the adjustable featurecould be omitted entirely, if desired.

Reference has heretofore been made to en-,

able the user of this invention to clean windows in the same manner asprofessional window cleaners who use a burlap cloth for wetting theglass, a piece of chamois skin for removing the excess moisture and alintless polishing cloth, such as Hickory cloth. In the preferred formof our invention we propose to use all three cloths and to providearrangements for rendering it convenient and easy for the user tointerchange these cloths upon the holder. However, it is not essentialthat all three cloths be used. A burlap cloth 26 is shown in Fig. 9, apiece of chamois skin 2'! in Fig. 11, and a pair of polishing cloths 28and 29 are shown applied to the holder in Figs. '7 and 8.

In Fig. 9, the burlap 26 is provided with an edge binding 3|, which isnot essential, and on one-half thereof a pocket 32 is formed by sewing apiece of cloth to the burlap leaving one open side 33. The pocket is ofsuch size as to enclose a substantial portion of the upper end of theholder I2, in the manner illustrated in Fig. '7. By the describedarrangement, either the face of the burlap on the opposite side to thepocket 32, or the free end of the burlap 26 may be used for applyingwater or washing solution to the window. (Of course, the pad |5 could beused for that purpose, especially in the case of using the preparedwindow cleaning fluids now on the market.)

The chamois skin 21 illustrates two methods of attaching the cloths tothe corners of the holder I2, either of which may be used to theexclusion of the other. At the top there is provided a pair of smalltriangular shaped pockets 34 of a size to fit upon the corners of theholder 2. At the bottom are shown a pair of diagonally disposed slits 35so arranged that the corners of the holder engage in these slits under aslight tension due to stretching the cloth or chamois skin thereover.One only of such slits may be located in the cloth through which theshaft may be passed, the cloth then being brought over the top of theholder, and across the face thereof with an edge portion being grippedin the space 2| as described in connection with Figs. '7 and 8. By anyof the described methods the particular cloth is firmly secured upon theholder so that the same may be rubbed back and forth over the windowpane without danger of detachment from the holder while the applicatoris in use.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate another cloth arrangement and method ofsecuring the cloths upon the holder. The opposite halves 28 and 29 ofthe polishing cloth are respectively provided with pockets 36 and 31,formed in the same manner as the pocket 32 in Fig. 9, so that both sidesof each of the halves may be used against the window pane. In theposition shown in Fig. 8, one side of portion 29 is outermost. If thisportion is thrown over the back of the holder l2 the corresponding faceof portion 28 will be used for polishing.

If the holder is inserted in the pocket 31, the opposite faces of thecloths may be used in the same ways. In these figures, it will be notedthat the lower ends of the cloths are folded around the lower end I! ofthe holder, as indicated at 38, and are forced between the plate I4 andthe shaft I I, which securely holds the cloth in place and stretchedover the holder, the notches 22 assisting in this result.

In the use of the applicator the user will obtain best results in thefollowing manner; first, wet the burlap cloth 26 and dampen thepolishing cloths 28 and 29; second, after inserting the holder |2 in thepocket 33 of the burlap cloth, rub the cloth over the window panes tothoroughly wet the surfaces (if desired the end of the burlap can betucked into the space 2|, but this is not always necessary when wettingthe glass, the friction of the felt pad against the burlap beinggenerally sufiicient to hold the burlap on the holder); third, afterwithdrawing the holder from the burlap and substituting the chamois skintherefor, rub the same over the window surfaces to remove all excessmoisture, and fourth, substitute the dampened polishing cloth for thechamois skin, inserting the holder in the pocket thereof and the freeend in the space 2| behind the holder, and then rub the surfaces of theglass to bring the same to a polish. In this connection, some users mayregard it as an advantage to use a well padded polisher, and with ourimproved applicator this can easily be accomplished by folding the sides4| and 52 (Fig. '7) of the cloth across the face of the holder I2, whichwill provide several additional thicknesses of cloth in front of theholder.

We have described our preferred method of cleaning glass surfaces andthe ease and facility with which the cloths can be substituted for eachother. By following this method, a large number of windows can becleaned at one time with one set of cloths, and without cleaning orwringing of the cloths.

The work of cleaning the glass surfaces is done easily by reason of thespecial construction of the applicator, to which attention will now becalled. If the outer surface of the glass is being cleaned, so that thepad is faced toward the user, a very light and easy pressure on theshaft H will be sufficient to flatten the holder I2 against the glass sothat the whole surface of the holder will be effective. The desiredpressure to flatten the holder is readily obtained by a simple pressingof the forefinger against the back of the shaft II, or by a very slightwrist motion in the plane of the shaft II, which will apply pressurenear the top of the handle I 3. Yet this seemingly light pressure isample to effect cleaning and polishing of the glass. Pressure on theshaft to flatten the holder is obtained by flexing the handle poitionaway from the vertical and away from the user, as indicated in Fig. 6.That pressure will be sumcient to bring the shaft to a flat or verticalposition, and will be transmitted to the holder I2 in back of the plateI4 so as to flatten the same against the window pane. At the same time,the curve and resilience of the holder I2 is such that the upper andlower edges thereof always remain against the surface and exert fullpressure along those edges even though the holder is used at the limitof reach of the user. If the plate were flat, instead of curved, thiscondition would not be true, because the applying pressure would not bedistributed over the whole holder, with the result that the top andbottom edges would tend to, and would actually, leave the surface of theglass. Accordingly, such holders in the prior constructions are not aseffective in cleaning along the window frame, or with the simplicity andfool-proofness of our improved applicator. In addition, the user remainsinside the room and yet is able to clean and polish the entire outerWindow surface while remaining inside and without having to use any ofthe cloths in the hands, especially along the window frame. If theinside surface is being cleaned, so that the face of the holder I2 isaway from the user, all the same advantages and results are obtained asdescribed above, with the conditions reversed.

These same advantages are obtained also when cleaning surfaces ofoverlapping window sashes, and particularly in cases of double windowssuch as are used in trains, and when outer storm windows are used in ahouse. In addition, our improved construction has further advantages inthese applications, which will be understood by reference to Fig. 6,where there is shown a portion of an upper window sash 43, having a paneof glass 44 therein, and a portion of a lower window sash 45, having apane of glass 46 therein. The space 4'! between these sashes is verynarrow, but our construction is so thin that the applicator is easilyinserted between the sashes with ample freedom for movement of the applicator.

This latter is facilitated by the curved construction of the shaft I Iwhich enables the necessary pressure to be readily applied to the shaftto flatten the holder I2, and at the same time the major length of theshaft, above the handle I3 is maintained substantially vertical andparallel with the flattened plate of the holder I2. Should the shaft IIengage the frame 43 of the sash, even adjacent the holder I2, the framewould simply act as a fulcrum to apply the necessary pressure to flattenthe holder against the outer surface of the glass 46 so that fullcleaning could proceed even along the frame 45. Another advantage of ourimproved structure is that the same can be used without damaging weatherstripping that may be attached to the frames. One form of such weatherstripping is shown applied to the window sashes in Fig. 6. The lowercross piece of the upper sash is cut out, as indicated at 48, to receivea generally U-shaped metal strip 49. The upper cross piece of the lowersash carries a similar U-shaped, but inverted metal strip 5| whichengages in the strip 49 when the window is closed. However, as can beseen, the use of the applicator will not damage the strip 49.

Another advantage of the particular arrange ment described is that theuser can apply all the necessary pressure for optimum results whilemoving the shaft lI vertically and from side to side, and by reason offlexing the handle away from the vertical there is no danger of the handstriking the window frame. Reference has been made heretofore to the useof a separate handle, but that is not a necessary part of our invention,and the handle end of the shaft may be provided with an aperture, asshown, by which the applicator can be suspended when not in use.

As willl be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the curve of the holder I 2 and thecurve of the shaft Ii are in the same direction with the handleangularly disposed to the latter curve. Applicators have beensuccessfully used by use with the curve of the shaft in the reversedirection to the curve of the holder, which arrangement disposes thehandle at an angle to the vertical. This arrangement has the limitationthat the shaft can be inserted between window frames only to the limitof the location of the curve, so that the arrangement shown herein isour preferred arrangement.

A modified form of applicator especially applicable to deep windowsashes and to casement types of windows is shown in Figs. l and 5. Theholder Iiil comprises acurved wire frame I82 having a Y-shaped brace I53fastened respectively at approximately the horizontal medial line of theframe I32, and to the bottom I84 of the frame I32 at the vertical medialline.

The shaft IilE- has a flattened end I86 which is appropriately securedto the vertical portion of the brace H93 in the same relative manner asdescribed in connection with Fig. 1. The shaft I also has a rearwardlyoffset portion it? adjacent the lower end I94 of the holder, and a spacem9 is provided between the vertical portion of the brace I83 and theflattened portion IE5 of the shaft for insertion of the lower ends ofthe cloths in the manner described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2, theflattened portion I38 being provided with gripping notches III. A padIt?) is secured to the wire frame Iii-2 in any suitable manner.

The shaft I85 need not be curved in the same manner as described inconnection with Figs. 1 and 2, but will operate to apply pressure to theframe I62 through the brace 53 to flatten the same as described inconnection with Figs. 1 and 2. It will be apparent that the offsetportion I0? enables the holder to be flattened against the pane of glassnotwithstanding a deep recess in the frame along the bottom of the planeof glass so that cleaning along the bottom edge of the glass can bereadily accomplished. Of course, the wire frame H32 could be used in theconstruction of Figs. 1 and 2 in place of the fiat plate holder, andvice versa.

Fig. 10 illustrates another arrangement of cloths especially usefulwhere a large number of windows are to be cleaned in succession. Aplurality of strips of cloth II2 are sewn together along the upper edgesthereof, and a pocket H3, or other supporting means for the holderportion of the applicator, is formed on one of the cloths. With theholder inserted in the pocket H3, any of the cloths H2 may be applied toa window pane, and as each cloth is used, it is merely thrown over thetop of the holder and hangs in back thereof.

Reference has been made above to use of this invention by housewives andin individual homes. However, the invention is equally useful byprofessional window cleaners, apartment house superintendents, and thelike, with the advantage that danger of falling from the windows iseliminated, as is the expense of special safety attachments on thewindows, etc.

Other modifications may be made in the arrangement and location of partswithin the spirit and scope of my invention, and such modifications areintended to be covered by the appended claims.

We claim: I

1. An applicator for cleaning and polishing glass surfaces comprising aholder consisting of a flat substantially rectangular resilient memberslightly curved from top to bottom and adapted to present a fiat worksurface to the glass, a resilient shaft fastened to the holder adjacentthe center of the member and above the lower edge thereof, the shaftbeing curved, and a handle on the shaft.

2. An applicator for cleaning and polishing glass surfaces comprising aholder consisting of a fiat substantially rectangular resilient membercurved from top to bottom, a resilient shaft fastened to the holderadjacent the center of the member and above the lower edge thereof so asto leave a space between the shaft and holder to which edges of cleaningcloths mounted on said holder may be gripped, the shaft being curved inthe same direction as the curve of the holder and both curves being on alarge radius, and a handle on the shaft.

3. The combination for cleaning glass surfaces comprising a curvedresilient cloth holder, a shaft fastened to the holder adjacent thecenter of the holder and above the lower edge thereof so as to leave agripping space between the shaft and the holder, a handle on the shaft,a cloth, and means on the cloth for mounting the same on the upperportion of the holder, the cloth extending across the face of the holderwith an edge portion of the cloth extending into said space and beingheld between the shaft and holder by the resilience of said holder.

4. The combination for cleaning glass surfaces comprising a curvedresilient cloth holder, a shaft fastened to the holder adjacent thecenter of the holder and above the lower edge thereof so as to leave agripping space between the shaft and the holder, a handle on the shaft,and a cloth having a pocket on one side thereof of a size to andreceiving the upper end of the holder, the cloth extending across theface of the holder with an edge portion of the cloth extending into saidspace and being held between the shaft and holder by the resilience ofsaid holder.

5. A cleaning cloth for use upon an applicator, said cloth comprising aplurality of sections secured together in overlapping relationship, apocket on one of said sections for mounting the cloth on the applicatorso that each section may be used individually and selectively.

6. An applicator for cleaning and polishing glass surfaces comprising aholder having an open-work substantially rectangular wire frame curvedfrom top to bottom and adapted to present a flat Working surface, abrace in said frame, a shaft connected to said brace, and a handle onthe shaft.

CHARLES F. ANDERSON. MICHAEL J. FREEMAN.

